Daily Meditations Archives - Page 243 of 351

The Fourth Friday of Great Lent: Sin is in no Way the Fault of our Nature &God does not Judge by Quantity

04/08/2016

Sin is in no Way the Fault of our Nature ‘I am the victim of violence in my nature; you say. ‘I love Christ, yet my nature compels me to sin.’ If you were in fact compelled to sin, if you were the victim of violence, then you would be forgiven for it. On the other hand, if you sin through idleness, do not expect forgiveness. But let us look at the question a moment

The Fourth Thursday of Great Lent: But Why does God Put up with Evil in the World? & Why does God allow Temptation?

04/07/2016

But Why does God Put up with Evil in the World? Why does error have a free rein and why does God allow the wicked to disturb the existence of so many people? First of all, before trying to understand, we need to put ourselves in front of the incomprehensible wisdom of God. One who is firmly anchored in God does not suffer any loss, even if attacked by a thousand waves and a thousand

The Fourth Wednesday of Great Lent: Progress in Self-Knowledge & God has Created Nothing Evil

04/06/2016

Progress in Self-Knowledge I pray you, brothers and sisters: let us strive with every means at our disposal to know ourselves. Then each one of us, starting with this self-knowledge, will be able to discover what is too high for us. We need to know ourselves so well that we can say like David: ‘I am a worm and no man’ [Ps. 22:7] or like Abraham: ‘I am dust and ashes.’ [Gen. 18:7] Otherwise it

The Fourth Tuesday of Great Lent: When the Mind is Well Disposed & ‘Pray for One Another’

04/05/2016

When the Mind is Well Disposed So perhaps Abraham had some priest at his disposal? Some expert? Perhaps he had heard some teaching, some preaching, some wise counsel? But no written documents existed in those days, no Law, no Prophets, nothing of that sort at all. He successfully sailed a sea that was not favourable to him in the slightest. He traversed a road that was impassable, he who came from an idolatrous family. Nevertheless,

The Fourth Monday of Great Lent: The Secret of the Peace we need & It is Easy to Pass from Contemplation to Action but not Vice Versa

04/04/2016

The Secret of the Peace we need Those who are engaged in spiritual warfare must always keep their hearts tranquil. Only then can the mind sift the impulses it receives and store in the treasure house of the memory those that are good and come from God, while rejecting altogether those that are perverse and devilish. When the sea is calm, the fishermen’s eyes can see the movements of the fish deep down, so that

The Third Friday of Great Lent: The Reins of Power & You are Utterly Fair, my Love, and there is no Flaw in You

04/01/2016

The Reins of Power In certain cases, the spirit follows the inclinations of nature like a slave. The body takes the upper hand, rouses the passions and drives us to demand selfish pleasure. Then the spirit gives in to the body and even supplies it with the necessary means to satisfy its lusts. This is not the experience of everyone. Those who are holy do not behave like that. In them it is the spirit

The Third Thursday of Great Lent: Who is Unaware of the Stream? & One Heart that Seems Two

03/31/2016

Who is Unaware of the Stream? You would be a blasphemer if you were to say that every believer receives and possesses the Spirit without knowing or recognizing the fact. Yes, you would! You would be accusing Christ of lying when he said: ‘The water that I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ and again: ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ [John

The Third Wednesday of Great Lent: Made in the Image of the Trinity we can attain to his Likeness & The Willing Slave of the Spirit

03/30/2016

Made in the Image of the Trinity we can attain to his Likeness The image of God is revealed in us by means of the threefold division of our internal make-up. The Godhead is adored in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Similarly, three parts can be seen in the image formed in accordance with this model, namely in the human being who adores him, who has made everything from nothing, with soul, mind

The Third Tuesday of Great Lent: Loose Words lead to Lewd Acts & We need Guidance on the Way

03/29/2016

Loose Words lead to Lewd Acts Filthy talk makes us feel comfortable with filthy action. But the one who knows how to control the tongue is prepared to resist the attacks of lust. We have to be clear as to what is filthy or lustful. The parts of our body involved in sexual union are not base, the embrace of the married couple is not base, nor are the words that talk about all this.

The Third Monday of Great Lent: God Tests us by our Conscience & The Wolves of Anger

03/28/2016

God Tests us by our Conscience The tree of life represents the Holy Spirit dwelling in the hearts of the faithful, as St Paul says: ‘Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?’ [1 Cor. 6:19] The tree of knowledge of good and evil represents our senses which produce contrasting fruits: pleasure and pain. Each of these is divided again into two: there is pleasure arising from